Mobile appliance for the treatment of domestic garbage

ABSTRACT

Mobile appliance for treating domestic garbage to obtain by compression, on one hand, an inert part, and on the other, a liquid, fermentable part, the appliance consisting of a motordriven vehicle provided with a swivelling mechanical arm, fixed on a rotary turret, the arm comprising at its free end and at least two articulated jaws acting like pincers to grasp the loose garbage and discharge it into a compression chamber of a press carried by the vehicle, the chamber being provided with a plurality of radial orifices opening out into a common chamber for evacuating the liquid.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,785,280 LeJeune 1 Jan. 15, 1974 MOBILE APPLIANCE FOR THE 3,044,391 7/1962 Pellett lOO/DIG. 8

3,486,440 12/1969 Schaffler 100/100 TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC GARBAGE [75] Inventor: Gwenole Jean-Claude LeJeune,

Port-Joinville, France [73] Assignee: Societe dEtudes, Fabrications,

Installations et Manutention en abrige EFIM S.A., Ambergenville (Les Yvelines), France [22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 235,263

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 22, 1971 France 7109972 [52] US. Cl 100/100, 100/127, 100/189, 100/191 [51] Int. Cl B301) 9/06 [58] Field of Search 100/100, 126, 127, 100/215, 179,188, 189, 191

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,932,244 4/1960 Moyer IOO/lOO X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 539,869 2/1956 Italy lOO/IOO Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Attorney-Spensley, Herb and Lubitz [57] ABSTRACT Mobile appliance for treating domestic garbage to obtain by compression, on one hand, an inert part, and on the other, a liquid, fermentable part, the appliance consisting of a motor-driven vehicle provided with a swivelling mechanical arm, fixed on a rotary turret, the arm comprising at its free end and at least two artic- PQEQJBYSHQQEE kep n ers testes? the 0. s rbage and discharge it into a compression chamber of a press carried by the vehicle, the chamber being provided with a plurality of radial orifices opening out into a common chamber for evacuating the liquid.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a mobile appliance for the treatment of domestic garbage by compression, the liquid extracted being re-used, after fermentation, in agriculture, the dry residue being discharged in a reduced form and with less trouble or burnt or re-used as a building material.

2. Prior Art 1 The known equipment for treatment by composting or compression is in stationary plants. The garbage must be transported from a collecting point to the plant which may sometimes involve considerable distances.

Such plants almost necessarily comprise a. an input pit accessible to trucks;

b. a device for extracting the garbage from the pit;

c. a magnetic sorting station which removes ferrous metal objects to prevent their damaging subse quent equipment;

d. a manual sorting station for removing unusual ob jects, which it would be dangerous to allow to pass through subsequent machinery;

e. a grinder for reducing the garbage into small particles in preparation for its treatment;

f. the press proper or any kind of system enabling the separation of the garbage into a fermentable part, suitable for re-use in agriculture, and a more inert part;

g. a biological treatment station for converting the fermantable part into compost;

h. a system enabling the inert part to be disposed of by means of an incinerator, discharge or other process.

The complexity of each of these stations and the space they occupy have not made it possible to group these on a mobile appliance ifa substantial throughput is desired.

The appliance according to the invention is mobile and enables the garbage to be treated, after being discharged in loose form in the usual tips for example and separated into two parts. These two parts are discharged continuously into two trucks provided for their transport.

The truck containing the dry residue discharges these under reduced pressure and without appreciable trouble or takes them to a treatment station of some kind.

The truck containing the fermentable residue takes this to the biological treatment station or to a treatment station of some kind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The appliance according to the invention consists of three basic parts an articulated mechanical arm able to grasp the garbage on the ground, a special press able to extract the soft part and the liquid in the garbage and fed by the mechanical arm, and finally a vehicle carrying the previously mentioned two types of equipment, enabling the garbage to be transported from one tip to another as well as the arm to have access to enable it to operate as required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial illustration of the presently preferred embodiment, showing different positions of the articulating jaws.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the compression chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The accompanying drawing (FIG. 1) illustrates schematically such an arrangement.

The mechanical arm I, mounted on the rotatable tur ret 2, is of the usual type, operated preferably by means of hydraulic jacks, and normally used in excavators or other mobile cranes.

The appliance is controlled by an operator sitting in the cabin of the rotatable turret 2.

At the end of the arm, a grab 3 enables the garbage to be grasped.

The garbage load is deposited into a hopper 4 giving access to the press 5.

The type of press shown here is an example, in no way limitative. It is sufficient that such a press be capable of subjecting the garbage to a very high pressure (2 to 300 bars) and to evacuate the soft parts, the gases and the liquid of the garbage through a series of holes or slits provided in the walls of the compression zone.

The soft parts are collected and evacuated by means ofa duct 6 in which they move easily on account of the high pressure existing before it and the semi-liquid and divided nature of the matter.

The dry parts are extracted from the press by an appropriate device. In the example cited, they leave through the nozzle 7 impelled by the piston 8 and are taken by the conveyor belt 12, best shown in FIG. 1, for evacuation from the vehicle.

The appliance operates very similarly to the usual type of plant except that the various functions of it are performed more simply by the previously mentioned parts of the appliance.

The appliance, preferably self-propelled, which is the subject of the invention, leaves its garage to its working location which may simply be its pit.

Although there are other possibilities, the appliance will generally be accompanied by two other trucks, whose function is, on one hand, to carry away the dry parts, and the wet parts on the other, to the appropriate places.

The appliance takes a load of garbage with its grab and deposits it into the feed hopper of the press.

The amount of garbage grasped by the grab corresponds to the ideal load which can be compressed by the press. The fragmentation of the garbage and their feed rate is thereby ensured.

By moving about in the working location, the appliance can have access to all parts of the pit.

This eliminates therefore the complicated system of extracting the garbage from the pit which is an essential feature of all stationary plant procedure.

In addition, the operator by means of the grab, can sort the garbage, grasping metallic or other objects which must be put aside and, because of the mobile nature of the appliance, deposit the garbage in the required place.

This feature makes it possible to eliminate magnetic sorting, manual sorting, and high frequency coil sorting used in stationary plants.

Another function of the grab is to grind down certain objects which are too large to enter the hopper, this being effected simply by compression or by weighing on said objects.

It should be noted that the basic function of this preliminary grinding in stationary compression equipment is to desintegrate (or cut-up) the garbage load before feeding it into the compression chamber. In the case of this invention, desintegration occurs as soon as the garbage has been grasped by the grab.

Another function of the grab consists in introducing the garbage deep into the compression chamber so that the piston, during its compression movement, needs only to expand a minimum effort in cutting-up the garbage.

This is done simply with the help of the grab in the feed hopper after the discharge of a load of garbage.

The press described in the example comprises essentially a piston 8 operated hydraulically which sweeps the compression chamber 9 in which the garbage is introduced through the window 10 under the hopper 4.

The garbage is thus impelled under strong pressure into the cone 11. The pressure required to compress the garbage depends on the bore of the output nozzle 7 which preferably should be removable or, still better, adjustable with adjusting mechanism 14.

Numerous radial holes 13 are provided in the walls of the cone. It is through these orifices that the gases, liquid and soft parts are evacuated when the dry parts pass out through the nozzle.

The holes are replaced with advantage by pierced, removable stoppers.

Each orifice opens out into a common channel into which the soft parts are drained and led to the evacuation duct.

The press operates cyclically. The piston, after having compressed a load of garbage, moves back over a certain distance before uncovering the opening end through which the garbage is introduced by gravity. When the piston has retracted fully, the opening is completely free and the load of garbage is introduced in front of the piston.

During the compression movement the load of garbage is impelled into the space left free by the preceeding retraction movement. As soon as the opening is closed again by the piston, the latter, in continuing its movement, compresses the garbage in front of it by pushing the whole column into the cone. In retracting, the piston leaves a space in front of it, the garbage having very little elasticity.

The sequence of operations is effected automatically and very accurately according to a pre-determined programme deposit of garbage into the hopper, by means of the arm, plunging the arm into the hopper to force a load to descend into the compression chamber, and then concurrently return of the arm to its working position and compression movement of the piston and return of the latter.

The mobile domestic garbage treatment unit which is the subject of the invention can be used with advantage when for economic or hygienic reasons the usual treatments are not acceptable. The invention is particularly appropriate for small cities and villages which could with advantage use such a mobile unit in turn which would pass at pre-determined intervals to treat the garbage which has been collected during one or several days. The treatment plant for the ferrnentable part of the garbage, which is to be used as fertilizer, should preferably be of considerable size so as to be able to re ceive and treat the products of several mobile units of the type described.

What I claim is:

l. A mobile waste treatment apparatus, mounted on a vehicle, said vehicle being equipped with a rotating turret, comprising;

a. a swivelling arm mounted on said rotating turret;

b. a receiving hopper disposed on said vehicle for receiving waste;

c. a compression chamber, having a first conical portion with radially disposed apertures wherein liquid waste may pass from said first portion of said compression chamber through said radially disposed apertures, and having a second portion which communicates with said first portion for receiving waste from said hopper;

d. a piston mounted for movement in said second portion ofsaid compression chamber for compressing and forcing said waste from said second portion of said compression chamber through said first portion; and,

e. a pincer, mounted on said swivelling arm, formed by articulating jaws and defining a volume approximately equal to the volume of said second portion of said compression chamber for retreiving partially crushed waste and for placing said waste into said hopper, and for forcing said waste from said hopper into said second portion of said compression chamber;

Whereby, waste may be treated and separated into a solid and liquid part.

2. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein said second portion of said compression chamber is cylindrical and coaxial with said conical first portion of said compression chamber.

3. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein a duct disposed so as to communicate with said radially disposed apertures collects said liquid waste and passes said liquid waste from said mobile waste treatment apparatus.

4. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein an adjustable nozzle is disposed so as to communicate with the small end of said conical first portion of said compression chamber. 

1. A mobile waste treatment apparatus, mounted on a vehicle, said vehicle being equipped with a rotating turret, comprising; a. a swivelling arm mounted on said rotating turret; b. a receiving hopper disposed on said vehicle for receiving waste; c. a compression chamber, having a first conical portion with radially disposed apertures wherein liquid waste may pass from said first portion of said compression chamber through said radially disposed apertures, and having a second portion which communicates with said first portion for receiving waste from said hopper; d. a piston mounted for movement in said second portion of said compression chamber for compressing and forcing said waste from said second portion of said compression chamber through said first portion; and, e. a pincer, mounted on said swivelling arm, formed by articulating jaws and defining a volume approximately equal to the volume of said second portion of said compression chamber for retreiving partially crushed waste and for placing said waste into said hopper, and for forcing said waste from said hopper into said second portion of said compression chamber; Whereby, waste may be treated and separated into a solid and liquid part.
 2. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein said second portion of said compression chamber is cylindrical and coaxial with said conical firsT portion of said compression chamber.
 3. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein a duct disposed so as to communicate with said radially disposed apertures collects said liquid waste and passes said liquid waste from said mobile waste treatment apparatus.
 4. The mobile waste treatment apparatus described in claim 9, wherein an adjustable nozzle is disposed so as to communicate with the small end of said conical first portion of said compression chamber. 